Week of April 25 - May 1

What’s On at the Tropic
By Phil Mann

Bear with me. This is going to be a little confusing, because this is a mélange of music week at the Tropic, and you’ll have to concentrate to keep the shows straight.

The big thing -- and take my word for it, it’s a Really Big Thing – is SHINE A LIGHT. What do you get when you combine Director Martin Scorsese, ten Oscar-nominated cinematographers, 18 cameras, and the Rolling Stones live-in-concert at New York’s small Beacon Theater? SHINE A LIGHT, that’s what. The cameras are all over the stage, putting you right there with the performers, creating an intimacy that has critics agog. Scorsese is no stranger to concert films, having cut his teeth in 1970 editing the Woodstock documentary, and shown his chops with The Last Waltz tribute to The Band and the Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home. He’s got films about George Harrison and Bob Marley in the works. But for right now, SHINE A LIGHT is his music masterpiece. Stephen Holden in the New York Times says the movie provides “ample evidence that rock ’n’ roll may hold the secret of eternal vitality.” Come and join Mick and Keith and gang, along with guests Christina Aguilera and Buddy Guy, on stage at the Beacon and see why.

Meanwhile, down the hall in The George digital theater THE BAND’S VISIT is showing. Contrary to the title, this movie is not so much about music as it is about One Human Family. An Egyptian police band gets lost while coming to Israel to help dedicate a new Arab cultural center, and winds up in a forsaken Israel desert town with “no Arab culture, no Israeli culture, no culture at all.” But it all works out, in a way that has the film sweeping up audience favorite awards around the world.

And then on Thursday and Friday, May 1-2, the Key West Songwriters’ Festival takes over the main stage at the Tropic at 9pm each night. This is the third year of the Songwriters’ Festival at the Tropic, and we’re expecting as rockin’ a time as ever. The Festival is all over town on 25 stages, but the Tropic event is the big show. Headliners like Robert Earl Keen, Raul Malo and Jeffrey Steele; Songwriter Hall of Famers like John Oates; an amazing array of talent, all there in concert. Check kwswf.com for detailed info on the schedule. For this event only tickets are being handled by the Hog’s Breath at 296-4222 (not the Tropic Box Office).

Rounding out the film schedule are the continuing run of THE BANK JOB, the British heist movie that has become a word-of-mouth favorite around town. On the Special Events calendar, there’s an encore showing of THE RETURN OF THE KEY WEST PICTURE SHOW on Tuesday, and Amy Culver’s African Adventure, a special free show on Monday.

And don’t forget that the free Kids Movies on Saturday, April 26, will include a free drawing for a bicycle. Drawing at 12:30pm sharp. If that’s not enough of an incentive, both movies this week are looking good. Alvin and The Chipmunks for younger kids, and the new indie feature Pearl Diver for older ones.

See you at the Tropic. Always open to your comment at Pmann99@gmail.com

THERE WILL BE BLOOD

The setting is the turn-of-the-century California oil boom. Daniel Plainview, played in an Oscar-nominated performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, is a wildcatter from Wisconsin who learns of a huge California prospect with oil literally bubbling up from the ground. It must be his, and neither ethics nor the power of Standard Oil can stand in his way.

THE WALKER

A contemporary drama set in Washington, DC, The Walker centers around Carter Page (Woody Harrelson), a well-heeled and popular socialite who serves as confidant, companion, and card partner to some of the capital's leading ladies. These pampered women are married to the most powerful men in America, and when their husbands are too busy running the country to attend to their wives, the wives turn to their "gay best friend," Carter, for warmth, wit, and wisdom. Carter's loyalty is tested when his dearest friend (Kristin Scott Thomas) finds herself on the brink of a scandal that could destroy her reputation and her husband's career.

ATONEMENT

In 1935, beautiful young Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and her 13-year-old sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan) live a life of wealth and privilege. Robbie (James McAvoy), the educated son of the family's housekeeper, carries a torch for Cecilia and hopes it will only take one spark for their relationship to combust. When it does, Briony—who has a crush on Robbie—is compelled to interfere, going so far as accusing Robbie of a crime he did not commit. With Briony bearing false witness, the course of three lives is changed forever.

BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD

A slick suspense thriller from the assured hand of master thriller director Sidney Lumet (Serpico, Prince of the City, Dog Day Afternoon). “This is a movie, I promise you, that grabs you and won't let you think of anything else,” says Roger Ebert.

IRA AND ABBY

Let's just quote Joe Morgenstern from the Wall St. Journal: "The nicest surprise of the week -- not just nice but amazing -- is a comedy called "Ira and Abby." The film was directed by Robert Cary from a stunningly funny script by Jennifer Westfeldt, who plays Abby to Chris Messina's Ira. (She co-wrote and played the title role in "Kissing Jessica Stein.") To do rough justice to this special treat in not much space, let me first stipulate that it evokes any number of Woody Allen films, thanks to its therapy-centric characters and its Upper West Side milieu. But it also evokes the precision and panache of Feydeau farces, and the giddiness of the classic screwball genre, thanks to Ira and Abby's roundelays of marriage and divorce in a madcap relationship marked by skittering skepticism about the wisdom of marriage, and the nature of love.

JUNO

t's funny, it's touching, it's cool, and it's "the feel-good movie of the season." (NY Daily News) Written by ex-stripper Diablo Cody and directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking), JUNO knows how to hit all the right notes. Ellen Page (Hard Candy) stars as the title character, a smart-alec teen confronting an unplanned pregnancy by her classmate Paulie (Michael Cera, Superbad). With the help of her best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby), Juno finds her unborn child a "perfect" set of parents: an affluent suburban couple, Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), longing to adopt.